I’ve just returned from one holiday last Wednesday, but I’m preparing to leave again! Just lucky, the previous holiday was with a group and I didn’t determine the date, the next one is with my mom and I didn’t determine that date either. At least I have a few days at home to do the laundry, hug the cats and sleep in my own bed.
It’s afternoon now and I’m mostly packed, just have to pick up some meds before I go. I’ll take the train to Berlin, where my mom is arriving – about now, I would say – after having cycled 2100 km from Antwerp. She also has a blog: De Fietsster, so you can read about her adventures there! Every year, we pick a destination together. It has to be a nice bike route, of course, but also a fun destination for a city trip. Normally, I would be there already, waiting for her, but in this case we had to make some adjustments due to the train schedule. The sleeper train rides at night – obviously – and I should be arriving at six am. That’s pretty early even for my mom, so she’s arriving at the hotel tonight and I’ll take a taxi from the train station to meet her there tomorrow morning.
Sleeper trains are both really old-fashioned (remember the Orient Express) and new. They went out of fashion when flying became so easy and affordable, but are seeing a rise in popularity the last years. It’s not actually cheaper than flying, but that’s because a lot of the actual costs of flying are sponsored by governments (in the form of tax exemptions) or invisible, like the carbon footprint. With the global effort to minimise the use of fossil fuels, the long distance train is making a comeback and more and more destinations are available. There’s even trains where you can take your car as well, to save you a night’s drive. Again, it’s not cheaper for the individual buying the ticket or the car fuel, but it’s a more sustainable way of travelling. I realise that the electricity used by the trains is also produced somewhere and that has its own footprint, but let’s not start that discussion here.
I must say I’m quite looking forward both to the train ride and the holiday in Berlin! I do have nostalgic memories of sleeper trains. In 1994 we took the train from Ufa (Bashkortostan) to Moscow, that was a 30 hour trip. It involved weird interactions with custom officials and careful guarding of luggage and kids. I, as a fourteen year old kid, thought it was a lot of fun and not boring at all.
Berlin is not new to me either, I visited once as a young child and then also ten or so years ago. We’ll probably skip the major tourist attractions this time and focus on good food, modern architecture and art, with perhaps a side dish of horticulture!
Febe writes 